The relationship between osteoarthritis and osteoporosis in the general population: the Chingford Study.

Abstract

Objective-A total of 979 women from the Chingford general population survey were studied to examine the hypothesis that osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis are inversely related.Methods-All women had radiographs of the hands and knees. A total of 579 also had AP radiographs of the lumbar spine which were graded for the presence of osteophytes. All women had bone densitometry performed at the lumbar spine (L1-L4) and femoral neck. Mean bone densities (BMD) were compared between those with disease and those with no disease at any other sites. All results were adjusted for age and body mass index (BMI).Results-All OA groups had significantly higher bone density than controls at the lumbar spine. For distal interphalangeal (DIP) OA (n = 140) the difference was +5.8% (+3.0, +8.6), for carpometacarpal (CMC) OA (n= 160) +3.0% (+0*1, +5.9), for knee OA (n = 118) +7*6% (+4.3, +10.9), and lumbar spine OA (LSOA) (n = 194) +7.8% (+6.0, +8-8). Those with generalised OA (GOA n = 22), a combination of knee, DIP and CMC OA had an increase of +9-3 (+2.0, +16.6). For the femoral neck BMD was also increased significantly ranging from +2.5% for the CMC, +6-2% for the knee and +6.3% in the lumbar spine OA group. The risk of knee OA for women in the top tertile of BMD was [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] (1. 15-3-93 Others, however, have failed to find a relationship. Price found a significant difference in bone mineral density (BMD) when adjusting for age, which disappeared after adjusting for height and weight.6 Other studies have also been inconclusive.7 Much of the previous studies were based on small numbers with often poorly matched controls, and using relatively crude techniques to detect bone loss. Many subjects had advanced disease and if OA has been present for some time the resulting immobility is likely to affect bone mass. We therefore chose to examine the relationship between bone density and early OA of the hand, knee and spine using a middle-aged general population sample and high precision dual x ray absorbtiometry of the spine and femoral neck (FN). The area is predominantly middle class but with a range of all social groups. A socioeconomic profile was performed using the Acorn classification system which is based on each subject's postcode and residence (CACI

Study of Peripheral Bone Mineral Density in Patients with Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis

“…The findings showed the global skeletal involvement in OA, being the changes present not only at the affected joints but also in other articular areas. More recent studies have confirmed these findings [20][21][22].…”

Osteoarthritis and bone mineral density: are strong bones bad for joints?

“…The hip and knee joints have been most studied, with several groups finding evidence of higher systemic BMD in those with OA at these joint sites in a variety of populations. [7][8][9][10][11] Higher BMD has also been reported in association with OA of the spine 10,12 and hand. 9,10,13 A limitation of cross-sectional studies is that the direction of causality cannot be formally assessed.…”

Variation at the ANP32A gene is associated with risk of hip osteoarthritis in women

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